Tire-gauge indicating member



May 8,1928. 1,668,663

E. VAHLE TIRE GAUGE INDICATING MEMBER Filed Dec. 6, 1926' 1 l l l ,u I'IIIIIIIYiiIiiiIII/lllllllIll1/1/1111/1/ By Attorneys,

Patented May 8, 192 8.

UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST VAHLE, OF UNIO CITY, NEW JERSEY, AssreNoR To A. SCHRADERS soN, INC., on BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION on NEW YORK.

TIRE-GAUGE INDICATING MEMBER.

. Application filed December 8, 1926. Serial No. 153,230.

The present invention relates to improve ments in tire pressure gauges of the tele scoping indicating sleeve type, and more particularly to the indicating sleeve of such gauges, and aims to provide certain improvements therein.

In the type of pressure gauge described, the pressure indicating sleeve consists of a deep cup closed at its top and open at its bottom, whereat it carries a split spring ring in frictional engagement with the inner wall of the gauge casing. As customarily made, said indicating sleevesare drawn from a sheet metal blank by a succession of cupping operations which gradually deepen the blank to proper form, after which the open'end is-slightly expanded and provided with an annular groove for accommodating the split spring ring. This process requires repeated annealing operations which adds to its expause and to the'time to complete the sleeves.

According to-the present invention I provide an indicating sleeve which overcomes the disadvantages hereinbefore set forth, possesses certain distinct advantages thereover and one which can be. more quickly and cheaply made. To this end I construct the sleeve from a flat sheet metal blank whichis first stamped into suitable shape and then bent to provide a sleeve-like member of prismatic form open and expanded at the bottom, the stamping and bendingoperations being such that the resulting sleeve will be providedwith longitudinal split portions, possessing a degree of resiliency at the bottom thereof, such that when the gauge parts are assembled the frictional engage ment between the bottom of the sleeve and the inner wall of the casing will be uniform throughout the range of movementof the sleeve and suflicient. to hold said sleeve in any indicating position of the sleeve. The invent-ion also includes other features of novelty which will be hereinafter more fully described.

In'the accompanying drawings I have shown certain preferred embodiments of my invention wherein, p

Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section of a pressure gaugeembodyin'g my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse sections taken onthe lines 2-2 and 3+3urespectively of Figure 1.

. Fig. 4 is a frictional elevation of a slight modification of the invention.

F ig. 5 is a section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a plan of the sheet metal blank of which the indicating sleeve is formed.

valve depressor herein indicated generally by the reference character F. The foregoing elements constitute a conventional type of tire pressure gauge Whichdiffer-sfrom the present invention onl in, the specific form and construct-ion of tie telescoping indicating sleeve E.

According to the present invention the indicating sleeve E is preferably of prismatic form; for the greater portion of its length and of substantially cylindrical form for the remainder of its length, the top of said member being closed, as at e, and the bottom being open, as shown at e. The cylindrical portion of the sleeve E is of larger diameter than the prismatic portion, and at the juncture of said portions there is pro vided a shoulder (1 This shoulder is adapted to co-operate with a shoulder 1) formed at the outer end of the casing B, whereat it is spun inwardly to provide a guide for the longitudinal edges of the indicating sleeve, said shoulders co-operatingto limit the out ward movement of the indicating sleeve and.

prevent its removal from the casing. The prismatic structure of the indicating sleeve provides it with a plurality of flatfaces upon which the pressure indicia can be conveniently applied. and inasmuch as the longitudinal edges of the prismatic portion are the only portionsthereof which engage the casing, it

will be apparent from this construction that the danger of the pressure indicia being cradicatedor disfigured due to the shding contact of the indicating sleeve with the casing is entirely overcome.

In Figs. 1 and 2 relative rotation between the indicating sleeve and the casing is pre- Nented by slightly indenting the spun-in portion at the outer end of the casing B, as shown at Z), but said indentations are not sufiiciently great to cause engagement of the flat faces of the prismatic casing therewith, as best shown in Fig. 2. In this embodiment of the invention it will therefore be apparent that in order to read the pressure gauge after having applied it and removed it from a tire valve, it may be necessary to rotate the gauge as a whole in order to obtain the line of coincidence between the pressure indicia line on the indicating sleeve and be top edge of the gauge casing. In the modification shown in Figs. at and the indicating sleeve is adapted to be rotated relatively to the casing, as will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 5. According to this embodiment of the invention, an opera tor may either turn the entire gauge in ord-er to read an indicated pressure or he may hold the gauge casing in one hand and turn the indicating sleeve until the indicated pressure mark on the sleeve coincides with the top edge of the casing. In this latter operation, however, care must be exercised not. to disturb the relative longitudinal relation to which the indicating sleeve has been moved outwardly by the pressure and the top of the gauge casing.

A principal feature of novelty of the present invention resides in the specific construction of the indicating member E, which, as herein disclosed, is formed from a flat sheet metal blank G, as shown in Fig. (3. This blank, which may be formed of sheet brass, iron, steel or other substance, can be stamped out of a sheet in a single operation by a :uitable punch or die. T he blank consists of a. central portion g, preferably of hexagonal form, flanked on both sides by sub stantially rectangular portions 9. In Fig. '7 the major portions of the parts g are shown as bent to form troughs which are semi-hexagonal in cross-section, whilethe outer ends of said portions 9 are expanded outwardly to provide portions of semi-circular form in cross-section. If desirable or practicable, the. blank shown in Fig. 7 may be formed in a single stamping operation rather than in two distinct operations. The bent portions 9 of Fig. 7 are then bent along the lines 9 towards each other to provide the split sleeve, as shown in Fig. 8. Owing to the inherent resiliency of the metal, the portions 9 when bent toward each other until the edges engage the under faces of the top G, the sleeve will assume the form shown in Fig. 8 with the sleeve walls longitudinally split, as shown at H,

and spaced apart a substantial distance at the open end of the cup, as shown at- J. The normal diameter of the open end of the sleeve is substantiall greater than the internal dian'ieter of tee gauge casing, hence the open end must be somewhat contracted to permit its insertion within the gauge casing. After insertion within the casing, the expanded open end of the sleeve, due to its inherent resiliency and tendency to assume its normal diameter, exerts a force radially outwardly against the inner wall of the easing providing a frictional holding engagement between the sleeve and the casing that is ample to maintain the indicating sleeve in any pressure indicating position to which it is moved. The prismatic portion of the indicating sleeve, however, has only its longi tudinal edges in sliding engagement with the gauge casing at the outer spun-in edge 7) thereof, hence the frictional holding en gagement between the indicating sleeve and the gauge casing is wholly provided between the expanded open end portion of the sleeve and the inner wall of the casing. The inner diameter of the casing being uniform throughout the range of the frictional engagement and movement of the sleeve therewith, it will be apparent that said frictional holding engagen'ient will be uniform for every degree of projection of the sleeve.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that in the present construction of indicat ing sleeve I have provided a device which can be quickly andcheaply made, one which eliminates the use of a separate spring ring for holding the indicating sleeve in indicating position, and one in which all danger of eradication or marring of the pressure indicia due to repeated sliding engagement with the casing is done away with. Also, that because of the absence of engagement between the pressure indicia and the gauge casing, said indicia may be printed orlithographed upon. the flat sheets prior to stamping therefrom the sleeve blanks, and thereby provide an additional saving in the manufacturing cost of such devices.

\Vhile I have shown and described the preferred embodiments of my invention I desire it to be understood that I am not to be limited to the specific structures disclosed, since various modifications thereof may be resort-ed to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. A pressure gauge comprising a casing and an indlcating sleeve telescoping with said casing, said sleeve having a plurality of longitudinally-extending edges providing the sleeve with faces between said edges, the faces of the sleeve being out of sliding engagement with the casing and pressure indicia on the faces of the sleeve.

, 2. A. pressure gauge comprising a casing and an indicating sleeve of prismatic form telescoping with said casing, the fiat faces of the prism being out of sliding engagement with the casing and pressure indicia on the flat faces of the prism.

3. A pressure gauge comprising a casing and an indicating sleeve of prismatic form telescoping with said casing, the fiat faces of the prism being out of sliding engagement with the casing, and the casing being shaped to co-operate with the longitudinal edges of the prism to prevent relative rotation between the casing and sleeve.

l. A pressure gauge comprising a casing and an indicating sleeve of prismatic form telescoping with said casing, the longitudinal edges of the prism being in sliding contact with the top of the casing, the faces of the prismatic sleeve being out of engagement with the casing and said sleeve having resilient means frictionally engaging the wall of the'casing for holding said sleeve in various indicating positions.

5. In a pressurev gauge, an indicating sleeve formed from what was originally a. fiat sheet-metal blank which is subsequently bent into the form of an elongated cup which is closed at its top, open at its bottom, and longitudinally split on its side from top to bottom, said cup being of prismatic form from the closed top to a point near the open bottom and from said point to the open bottom, said cup being expanded to provide resilient walls for frictionally holding the indicating sleeve in indicating positions. 7

(5. In a pressure gauge, an indicating sleeve formed from what was originally a flat sheetmietal blank having signed my name.

ERNEST VAHLE.

a portion of polygonal form. flanked by substantially rec- 

